The Mitchell Files 7
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE) A time of healing for Melony and Carson before Mitchell and Talon go after the Wraith.
1. 01

**The Mitchell Files Volume 7**

(yeah, it doesn't have a title, either)

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters or places. JustMelony, Talon and anyone else that I might make up.

_Author's Note: There's probably no point to this story. It takes place a day or so after Volume 6 ends, and will (most likely) just focus on Melony and Carson._

OOOOOOOOOOO

The dining room – or Commissary, as the military personnel were taking to calling it – was deserted, except for one person alone at one of the table, looking at her laptop and occasionally taking a sip from the steaming mug of coffee sitting in front of her. Doctor Carson Beckett hobbled over to her.

"I thought I'd find you here…"

Mitchell looked up from the file she was reading, and with careful deliberation closed her laptop. Then she smiled, and Carson felt his heart skip a beat.

"Here I am," she told him, a slightly teasing tone in her voice. "What did you find out about your ankle?"

"It's not broken."

"Good."

"It still hurts, though."

She gestured for him to sit beside her.

"Then you shouldn't be on it."

He wasn't _technically_ on it – he was _on_ crutches, after all – but he didn't deny the logic of her statement as he set his crutches aside and sat down next to her at the empty table, having just a little trouble maneuvering the air cast so he could sit properly. Luckily, she was fairly close to the end of the bench, so he could be close to her and still be able to stretch the leg out a little.

"What are you reading?"

"A mission report from A-03."

Since that meant absolutely nothing to him, he frowned.

"Which planet is that?"

"The second planet that the teams found signs of the Wraith on – although they didn't actually see any."

"You're not getting ready to go Wraith hunting are you?" He asked, unable to help himself – and unable to hide his concern. "You haven't even been back to A-08, yet, and gotten the lava base up and running…"

She shook her head, her hand coming to cover his and squeezing it lightly.

"I'm getting ready to go Wraith hunting, yes, but I'm not going to go for a while. I'm just reading through mission files to see if I can find a fairly safe planet to hunt for them."

Which sounded like an oxymoron to him, since there was no such thing as a _safe_ Wraith hunt.

"Can you take a break?"

She nodded. There wasn't any rush, after all. He was right; she didn't even have the lava base up and running yet. And until she did there was absolutely no reason to risk life and limb hunting the Wraith.

"Did you have anything in mind?"

"I've been ordered back to my bed," he said, scowling – much to Melony's amusement. Since he was injured, he was – technically – out of the chain of command in the infirmary. Which meant he was subject to doctor's orders until his ankle healed. "And was hoping you'd want to keep me company? We could play cards…"

"You already owe me 800 bucks."

He shrugged.

"You should be willing to give me a chance to win some of it back, then."

She laughed, and nodded.

"Fine. I'll play cards with you, but when you end up being forced to sell organs to pay your gambling debts, don't coming crying to me."

He smiled.

"I'm getting better."

She'd only just started teaching him how to play Gin, and he was wrong. He wasn't getting better. He was still terrible.

_And you're exploiting that lack of ability_

I'm not cheating.

_You're not helping him learn_

I point out his mistakes, but I don't want to hurt his feelings.

She didn't need to mention why she was so careful with Carson – Talon already knew. The relationship between Colonel and Doctor was healing, but it was still fragile, and they both knew it. Which was one reason Melony was glad that she was stuck on Atlantis for a week or so until Rodney McKay had gathered his team of engineers and scientists (that weren't claustrophobic) to help get the lava base useable.

They had a chance to get their relationship back. And at the moment, it meant playing cards with him, and not looking through files to find a Wraith planet.

_That can wait_

Yeah.

"I'll get the cards," she told him, getting up far more gracefully than he did. "Have you eaten?"

He nodded, taking his crutches.

"You could bring tea."

Blech. Why not bring dishwater?

He noticed the look of distaste, and smiled.

"You don't have to _drink_ it."

Good thing.

"I'll bring you some tea. But _only_ because I like you."

"In that case, I'll have a whole pot."

Bah.

She watched as he hobbled out of the room, and then headed for the kitchen to make him a pot of tea. Luckily there was always hot water available.

OOOOOOOOO

She didn't _just_ bring tea. For one thing, she didn't have any intention of drinking tea, so she brought a large mug of coffee – that wouldn't last all that long, but it would do. Since she hadn't eaten lunch, she'd also brought a plate with rolls and cheese – which would do for an impromptu meal. If he changed his mind about being hungry, she'd share.

Juggling the heavy tray – which held a deck of playing cards and a small notebook as well – she palmed open the door to his quarters, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get up easily and get to the door to let her in.

He wasn't in the living room area.

"Carson?"

"I'll be right out."

The voice was coming from his bedroom, and she noticed he sounded frustrated, and annoyed. She set the tray down on the coffee table.

"Are you all right?"

"Aye. I'm just having some trouble… I'll be right there."

"Anything I can help with?"

"Only if you hear a crashing noise as I fall down."

She smiled, deciding he was trying to get changed, and sat down on the sofa. If he needed her help, he was smart enough to ask for it.

Maybe.


	2. 02

She didn't hear any crashing noises. What she did hear was a lot of partially muttered curses – he probably thought she couldn't hear them at all, or he probably wouldn't have been griping so loudly – and the clatter of what was probably one of his crutches falling to the floor. Complete with another string of muffled curses.

_Someone is having a bad day_

Crutches are hard if you're not used to them.

_True_

"Do you need help?" She called.

There was silence, and another clatter.

"No. I'm getting there. Thanks."

She started shuffling the cards, respecting his right to chose whether to ask for help or not, and a few minutes later he appeared at the doorway, wearing a white t-shirt with a blanket wrapped around his waist like a great big towel, and a scowl on his face that he was trying hard to hide. He hobbled over to the sofa and sat down heavily, giving her a weak smile.

"All that effort for _that_?" She asked, unable to hide her amusement.

He scowled, but it wasn't directed at her – and she knew it. It was just an annoyed expression.

"The brace is complicating things."

"Yeah?"

"I took it off to get undressed, then put it back on – before I dressed. And one of the fasteners is stuck, or something, because I can't get it undone, and none of my pants will fit over the bloody thing."

Which explained all the cursing.

She looked at the blanket covering him.

"You're not naked?"

"No. I have boxers on. But they're hardly fit for entertaining."

She smiled, and stood up, moving over to him.

"Let me help you get a little more comfortable, Carson," she told him. The blanket was bunched around his waist and lower back, keeping him from being able to lean back against the sofa properly and since he was going to be stuck in one position for a while, there was no reason not to make sure he was comfortable.

He nodded, and Melony unwrapped the blanket from his waist.

"Lift up."

He raised his hips so she could pull the blanket out from under him, exposing his boxers for all the world to see – although at that moment, that was just her.

"Get comfortable," she ordered him, holding the blanket and giving him a chance to shift on the couch until he was more comfortable than he had been, his braced foot now up on the coffee table next to the tray she'd set there. Once he stopped moving, she spread the blanket on his lap and bare legs, covering the brace and tucking the blanket under him on the far side so it wouldn't slip. His shoulders and chest weren't covered – they wouldn't be able to play cards if his hands weren't free – but it wasn't all that cold in the room, so she was sure he'd be fine.

_Or you could cuddle with him_

She was surprised that Talon suggested that, but it was a measure of the fact that he was making a conscious effort to try and get over his animosity towards the doctor. An animosity that Melony didn't share – although she had her own hesitations when it came to Carson.

"Better?" She asked him.

He gave her a genuinely thankful smile and nodded.

"Thank you."

Mitchell leaned over him, bracing herself with an arm on the back of the couch beside his shoulder, and brushed a tender kiss against his cheek.

"It's okay to ask for help, you know?"

He resisted the temptation to turn his head and steal a kiss, and nodded, his hand coming up to take the one that wasn't holding herself up.

"I'll remember that."

She smiled, and squeezed his hand for just a moment before taking hers back and sitting down beside him on the couch, not quite touching him, but close enough that she was actually sitting on the edge of the blanket.

"Can you reach your tea, or do you want the tray in your lap?"

He shook his head.

"It's fine there. I'll need my hands free for cards."

She took the coffee and tea off the tray, set the rolls and cheese aside, and then brought the tray up and put it over their laps to be used for a modified card table. Then she handed him the cards and picked up her coffee mug.

"Deal them up, Carson."

OOOOOOOO

"I think you're _cheating_…" Carson finally said, watching as she set her hand down on the table, announcing that she had Gin. For about the millionth time that afternoon.

Melony smiled and shook her head, gathering the cards up after writing the score down.

"It just takes practice."

"By the time we get back to Earth, I'm going to have to sell my house to pay you what I owe you."

They'd been playing all evening, and while he was getting better – and she _was_ trying to help him learn – he was just lousy at the game, and she was very good at it. She laughed, and tore the score paper out of the notebook and crumpled it up.

"We'll start over next time."

"It won't help."

"I know."

He gave her a look, and she couldn't help but smile as she stood up.

"It's getting late. I'd better go so you can get some sleep."

He didn't want her to go, but he understood. There had been a time not so long ago that he would have asked her to stay and cuddle with him for a while – maybe all night – but that wasn't going to happen anymore, he knew. And it was his own fault.

She didn't leave immediately, though.

"Do you need help getting to bed?"

Since he needed to go to the bathroom before going to bed, and he wasn't going to enlist her aid in getting him there, he shook his head –although the help would have been nice.

"I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

She had noticed the hesitation.

He nodded.

"I think so. If you hear a loud crashing, though…"

She grinned and sat down on the arm of the sofa right next to him, her hand touching his cheek.

"Just try not to break the other leg, okay?"

"I'll be careful."

She kissed him, then. A gentle kiss that was sweet and wonderful and suddenly made him glad for the blanket that was covering him as he reacted to the kiss and her nearness. He brought his hand to her cheek, not holding her, but touching her, because he had to, and when she didn't pull away and didn't break off the kiss, he dared to deepen it just a little. She sighed – a pleasured sound, not an annoyed one – and they were like that for another short while before Melony finally pulled back, coming up for air.

"I'll come by in the morning and check on you."

"Okay."

Her hand sifted through his dark hair for a minute, and then she stood up.

"I love you," he said as she crossed the room.

She turned at the looked at him. And smiled.

"I love you too, Carson. I'll see you in the morning."

And she was gone.


	3. 03

When Melony checked on him the next morning, he was sound asleep and snoring lightly. She knew he was taking painkillers – nothing too potent, but painkillers would always put you to sleep – so she didn't try to wake him, figuring it would be better to let him sleep himself out. She simply tucked his blanket back up around him, making sure he was warmly covered, kissed his cheek lightly, and left his room. She'd come back later.

When she went to breakfast, she met up with Rodney McKay, who was anxious to talk to her about the lava base, as everyone was calling it, much to Talon's annoyance. He was still fond of 'Talonopolis' – although there would be a population of all of two – and only one body.

She sat with McKay over breakfast, sipping coffee and hashing out details of who was going to go on the first trip over. McKay was anxious to get the base up and running, but he was also interested in harvesting as many of the berries from the coffee plants as they could and getting them separated, dried and roasted before they ran out of coffee. Since the coffee situation on Atlantis wasn't quite that desperate, Mitchell wasn't as panicked to get it done as he was – although she was no less interested.

Weir came over and joined them, but Melony didn't stay much longer. She knew that Sheppard and his team had an off-world assignment later that morning, and she knew that she was distracting McKay from it by being near by. And that wasn't acceptable. It wasn't fair to McKay and it wasn't fair to Sheppard. She told them she'd be in her quarters if she was needed, grabbed another cup of coffee and then headed to her room. And her laptop.

OOOOOO

It was only when there was a knock at her door that she looked up from the mission files she was studying. From the stiffness in her neck, she realized she'd been lost in her research for far longer than she thought, and she was rubbing the back of her neck as she went to the door and opened it.

It was Beckett.

Melony moved out of the way so he could walk in the room, making sure to give him plenty of room for his crutches as he hobbled past.

"I thought you were going to come check on me this morning?" He said as he came in.

She smiled, picking her laptop up off the bed and gesturing for him to sit down.

"I did."

"I didn't see you."

"Because you were asleep."

He frowned, dropping his crutches on the floor by the bed.

"You could have woken me."

"You were looking pretty comfortable." She told him. "And snoring."

"I was not."

She nodded.

"You were."

"I don't snore."

"You _were_."

"I-"

"Want to ask Talon?"

Carson frowned, knowing that if she was willing to let him ask, then chances were, he probably had been.

"It was probably the medication."

Mitchell grinned. She'd won.

"Probably."

More than ready to change the subject, Beckett looked at the laptop in her hand.

"Still looking for a Wraith planet?"

She nodded, and sat down beside him, taking the laptop and moving it over to the stand by her bed.

"It can wait, though."

"Have you found one, yet?"

She shrugged, and nodded.

"A couple that might have what I'm looking for."

He was quiet for a moment, as if he was uncertain if he should say what he wanted to say, and then he sighed.

"What you're planning to do scares me."

She nodded.

"It scares me, too."

"But you're still going to do it…"

"Yes."

"I don't want to lose you."

She leaned sideways against him, resting her cheek against his shoulder, and Carson put his arm around her, holding her in a one-arms embrace.

"It's no more dangerous than Sheppard and the others going off-world," she said. "At least _I_ know what I'm going to find when I get there. Plus, I have Talon in case something happens."

It was easy to be brave when there was someone there to heal you if you were hurt.

_There's a lot more to your courage than that, Hot Shot_, Talon chided her. _And you know it_

She didn't answer him, but a gentle surge of love passed silently between them.

"Talon can't heal everything."

"He can heal a lot, though. And I don't plan on taking on more than a couple of them – and with the Ancient shielding devices and the Goa'uld technology I have… they shouldn't pose that much of a danger."

"But they will," he argued, his concern obvious in his blue eyes. "They-"

She pressed her fingers against his lips, and then when he didn't finish what he was going to say, she moved her fingers and moved slightly so she could brush his lips with her own.

"Don't worry about it, Carson," she told him, pulling back just enough that she could speak. Her lips were still close to his – so close that he could feel her breath on them while she spoke. "It's still a ways off, and worrying about it isn't going to help…"

"I know… but I can't help it. All I can think of is how bad it was the last time you and Talon went Wraith hunting."

That _had_ been bad. Even Talon agreed.

"We were caught off guard," she told him, moving out of his embrace and getting to her feet so she could walk around the bed and stretch out on it a little bit without getting in his way. "We know what they can do, now. And what they can't. They won't get close enough to feed again."

"But-"

Talon asked for and received permission to take over, and a deep voice interrupted Beckett. He knew immediately who was speaking. He'd heard the voice before, after all.

"The Wraith can'tfeed onMelony, Doctor Beckett. Even if one somehow managed to get past the defenses of the Goa'uld shielding device, and the Ancient's shielding device and started to feed, I know how to counter it, now, and I will. She won't be harmed in that manner."

"But you can't promise that she won't be harmed at all…"

"Of course not. They _do_ have other weapons."

"I –"

"There isn't a lot of time," Talon interrupted. "Once Talonopolis is up and running, we will be busy seeking out the Wraith. There are better things you two could be doing with the little time you have than worrying about something that you have no control over…"

Talon drew back from control.

"_Talonopolis_?"

She shook her head, smiling.

"Don't ask…"

"Can he really keep the Wraith from feeding…?"

She nodded.

"Want me to explain it to you?"

"Can I hold you while you do?"

As Talon had said, there were better things to be doing than worrying – or at least he could do both at the same time, this way.

Mitchell patted the bed beside her, and watched as he shifted so he was stretched out beside her. His arms came around her and she melted against him, putting her head on his chest. She'd already explained this once – to him and the others – but if it made him feel better, then she'd do it again.

As she started speaking, Carson rested his head against the headboard of her bed, his eyes closing although he was paying close attention to what she was telling him. Hopefully, somewhere in the information he was getting would also be the method of healing her if something happened to her and the symbiote both, and he didn't want to miss it.


	4. 04

They spent the rest of the morning discussing Talon's healing capabilities and how her bond with the symbiote could protect her from the Wraith. Mainly to try and keep him from worrying too much, Melony went into more detail about the technology behind the Goa'uld devices that she was going to bring to bear on the Wraith when the time came. She didn't know how much good it did, but he listened closely, and even asked a few questions that proved to her he was paying attention. And maybe even easing some of the concern, since the technology was formidable – and nothing the Wraith had seen before, as she frequently reminded him. That was definitely in her favor, because the Wraith couldn't defend against something they didn't know.

"But that goes both ways doesn't it?" He asked, running his fingers through her hair lightly as he held her. "We don't know all that much about them, either."

"Which is why I need to get hold of some of their technology – preferably without tipping my hand to them."

"Which is why you're looking for planets that have small populations…"

She nodded.

"I don't want them to think anything's going on. Of course, they might be so cocky that they wouldn't think I'm a threat, anyways, but I'm not going to count on it."

He nodded, and sighed. At least she had given it a lot of thought. And, he reminded himself, she'd already done this once before, with the Goa'uld.

"Too bad they're not still hibernating…"

She agreed, although if the Wraith were still hibernating, there was always the chance that they might have woken at an even worse time – like when the people on Atlantis had decided the area was secure and had let down their defenses a bit more. And had they overrun Atlantis, Earth was the next step. Which wasn't an option.

_No_

She could have stayed with Carson all day, except that she wanted to go see Sheppard and the others off, and stick around the area in case they ran into any trouble – even though the mission was supposed to be simply routine.

_There's no such thing_

True.

She kissed Carson softly and dragged herself out of his embrace, telling him that he was more than welcomed to just stay where he was if he didn't feel like trying to hobble back to his own quarters, and that if he was hungry she'd bring him something – or have someone else bring him something.

"I'm going to take you up on that," he told her, watching as she strapped on the holster that held her Beretta and the zat – although she left the backup weapon in the holster that was sitting beside her coffee pot and didn't even look at the P-90. "I'm just going to sleep, though… if you don't mind me doing it in your bed?"

"Not at all." She leaned over and stole another kiss. "I'll be back in a bit – unless something happens."

He nodded, and she left her room, almost running into Sheppard, who was coming out of his own.

"Hey, just the man I'm looking for."

He smiled.

"It must be my rugged good looks."

"Or your too-long hair." She said, reminding him that she wanted him to eventually get it cut back to military length. Off-world or not, they were still in the United States military, and she wanted the men and women to look like it.

"I'll get it cut," he promised, crossing his fingers over his heart.

"Good."

Since he was already in full gear for his mission, they turned and headed for the gate room, where they met up with the others. Noticing she was armed, Lieutenant Ford walked over and met her, followed by McKay and Teyla.

"Are you coming, too?"

"Nope. I'm going to be your back-up. So try not to get in any trouble, okay? I have a crick in my neck and I don't want to have to do anything strenuous if I can avoid it."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"It's a fairly simply mission," Sheppard said as he checked McKay's gear to make sure he didn't have his vest on inside out or anything. "We shouldn't be gone long."

"We'll leave a light on for you," Mitchell told them as they headed down the stairs and Weir came over to stand beside her.

"And have a pot of coffee ready when we get back," Ford said. "It's raining there."

"All the more reason you guys need to be careful," she called down to them.

"Why's that?"

"I don't want to get wet."

Weir smiled and nodded for Grodin to start the gate dialing, and Mitchell and the others watched as it engaged and Sheppard led his team through. The minute they were gone and the gate shut down, Melony headed back down the stairs, calling to the various Marines that were standing there to provide cover in the event of something happening.

"Martinez, Coates, and Allias, you guys take flanking positions. Sanders and Barnes, you're with me."

They all moved into the positions she set them in, and waited. If something was going to go wrong it could happen at any time, but usually if Sheppard and the others were going to get chased back through the gate, it would happen as soon as the locals realized they were there – which shouldn't take long.

After half an hour, she allowed the men to stand down, but cautioned them to remain close by. She didn't _really_ need to – they were professionals, after all – but it never hurt to remind them of that. They nodded, and Mitchell left for the commissary to make sure they had a pot of coffee going. Sheppard and his team weren't supposed to be gone more than a few hours – and since it was raining, they probably wouldn't even be gone that long. She poured herself a mug of the pot when it was brewed, and went back to the gate room, where she lounged against the one of the computer stands and chatted with Weir and Grodin as they waited.

Sure enough, the gate started dialing about twenty minutes sooner than they expected it to, and Mitchell trotted down the stairs once more, leaving her coffee cup with Weir and checking to make sure her Beretta was loose in its holster. The Marines, also, snapped to, all of them raising their weapons and waiting to hear if it was Sheppard's team coming through, or an enemy.

A moment later, Grodin let them know that it was.

"I have Major Sheppard's IDC, Doctor Weir."

"Lower the shield."

The lowering of the shield increased the vigilance of the Marines and Mitchell, though. Because now there was nothing to keep Atlantis safe but them if something – or someone – was following Sheppard's group (chasing them, in other words).

A moment later, Ford and Teyla came through, followed only a couple seconds later by Sheppard and McKay. None of them were in any hurry so it was obvious they weren't being chased, but they were drenched. The gate closed behind them and Mitchell motioned for the Marines to stand down, dismissing them.

"You're looking a little…"

"Wet?" Sheppard asked, sarcastically.

"Like something the cat dragged in," she agreed, grinning. Better him than her. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Nope. A whole lot of nothing."

"We took a lot of pictures, though," McKay said, pulling off his hat and slapping it against his thigh. Water sprayed everywhere.

Weir smiled.

"Colonel Mitchell made sure there's coffee in the commissary. Go get dried off and warmed up, then head to the infirmary to get checked out."

They nodded, and left.

"I think I'll skip the debriefing," Melony told Weir. "If they tell you anything interesting, make Ford write it down, and I'll look at it later." Her tone of voice plainly said she didn't expect them to tell her anything interesting – and Weir didn't, either.

"Are you going to be in your quarters?"

Mitchell nodded.

"Just looking at them has managed to make me cold. I'm going to go warm up."

"With a cup of coffee."

"Yup."

She smiled and left, heading back to her quarters. A cup of coffee and a warm body to snuggle up against.


	5. 05

Author's Note: Okay, it's not all that long... but it's cute, and a little mushy.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Carson was asleep when she reached her quarters. Not only asleep, but…

_Aw, man, he's snoring…_

She smiled as she closed the door behind her, looking at the man sleeping so soundly in her bed.

It's not _that_ bad.

_It sounds like he swallowed a chainsaw_

She snickered, softly, and headed for the coffee pot that was on her dresser. The coffee that was in it should still be hot. Maybe a little strong from sitting all afternoon, but she didn't mind strong.

_You just don't want to wait for a new pot to brew_

That, too.

Sure enough, the coffee was warm. She poured a cup and took an appreciative sip before heading into the bathroom. The next step to fighting off the chill was to take a hot shower.

_You're_ not _cold, you know? It's all in your head_

_You're_ in my head, too. Why don't you warm me up?

_Smart ass. Fine, get in the shower and wrinkle yourself_

She allowed a soft chuckle, since the bathroom door was closed and it wouldn't wake Carson.

Stripping out of her uniform, she turned on the water in the shower and waited for it to get hot enough that she could just barely stand it, and then stepped under the spray. The best thing about Atlantis was the unlimited water they had access to, and the fact that there was no need to ration showers. For which Melony was grateful, because she loved a long hot shower.

When she finally turned the water off and stepped out of the shower she was feeling a lot better. Warmer and wrinkled, just like Talon had said.

_I'm always right_

Yeah? What about that time that you said those Goa'uld weren't going to be _dumb_ enough to fall for that whole broken ship trap?

_That doesn't count_

She reached for a towel.

What about the time that you said Simmons was bluffing and he really had that straight flush? You cost me twenty bucks, as I recall.

_That doesn't count, either_

What about-

_Fine, I'm not_ always _right. Happy?_

She smiled.

Maybe.

Talon started muttering to himself in the back of her head, and she was still grinning when she pulled on a sweatshirt (Green Bay Packers) and a pair of sweats and left the bathroom.

Knowing that Carson wouldn't mind, Melony slipped under the blankets with him, and cuddled up against him. Sure enough, he woke just a little when she did, sliding an arm sleepily around her and pulling her close with a contented sound.

"Are they back?" he asked her, his voice slightly muffled.

"Yeah," she whispered, putting her hand on his side, just below his ribs. "Everyone's fine… go back to sleep."

He mumbled something that she couldn't understand, but he was already almost back to sleep – he'd never really woken all that fully anyways – and slid his hand along her waist, just brushing bare skin when the hem of her sweatshirt slid up a little. She held her breath, tensing, but Carson didn't do anything else. He simply pulled her up against him as well as he could, and with a soft sound, fell back to sleep, his chin resting on her still damp hair.

Melony sighed, and ran her hand along his belly for just a moment. Like her own shirt, his had slipped a little as well, and she was touching bare skin now. Since he was asleep, it wasn't bothering him, and she loved touching him like this. Loved it so much, she was half-tempted to wake him up and see if she was ready to do a little more than simply cuddle.

The only things that stopped her were the fact that he was asleep and she didn't want to wake him, and the fact that she wasn't one hundred percent sure she was ready for it – and she didn't want to start something with him that she wouldn't be able to finish. _That_ wouldn't have been fair to him.

Instead, she sighed, feeling just a little frustrated. Okay, maybe a bit more than a little. And closed her eyes. Stupid libido, anyway.

Talon chuckled in her mind, and then helped ease her into a calmer state, eventually putting her to sleep. He was better than a sleeping pill, and they both knew it.

OOOOOOOO

When Carson woke up a bit later –a couple ofhours later, actually – he wasn't shocked to find her in bed with him. He vaguely remembered her coming in and waking him, telling him that Sheppard and the others had returned. He _was_ a bit chagrined to find that he had his hand up under her sweatshirt, resting against the warm skin of her belly – right below her breasts, which meant it was _way_ up her shirt. He was also surprised to find that her own hand was in a similar spot on his stomach.

He wondered if moving his hand would wake her. And worried that waking her while his hand was under her shirt would make her think he'd been trying to make a move on her while she was sleeping – something that just wouldn't do. He'd probably be able to explain it – if Talon didn't kill him, first – but it'd undo a bit of the progress that they'd made in their estranged relationship. Progress that had the two of them back in each other's arms – which was more than he'd ever figured would happen again.

Deciding that it was just as good an idea to leave his hand where it was until she woke, he lay still, resisting the urge to stroke her belly tenderly – which definitely would have woken her, and probably would have found himself being thrown out the door when he woke Talon. Instead, he closed his eyes, and listened to the steady sound of her breathing, and felt her heart beating, even though his hand wasn't that close to it. It was all acoustics.

Eventually, he drifted back to sleep, too warm and comfortable to stay awake.


	6. 06

For the next three day, Melony Mitchell spread herself fairly thin. There was a lot to do now that Rodney had his group of engineers picked out, and she wanted to make sure that before they all went to A-08, they all knew what to expect. Which meant spending a lot of time explaining to them what they'd seen there, and discussing the dynamics of lava flows in general and this one in particular. She and the others drew several diagrams of the main cavern and the subsequent lava tubes that extended beyond that cavern – although they didn't have any notion of what lay beyond the cracked one that Beckett had fallen into, since they hadn't explored further.

She went on one off-world mission with Sheppard and the others, simply because she was interested in the planet they were checking out, but it hadn't turned up anything interesting – unless you liked rocks. But at least it hadn't been raining there. They'd returned slightly sunburned, and a bit out of sorts because McKay had done nothing but complained about all the crap he was wearing and carrying that was making him hot – and how come he had to carry a machine gun when there wasn't even anything that needed shooting?

Grumpy and tired – although thanks to Talon she didn't suffer from the sunburning that the others did – Melony had been forced to count to ten seven or eight times to keep from shooting him herself.

She was definitely glad to return to Atlantis, and even managed to cheer up a bit when Carson came hobbling up, still on crutches but showing off the fact that he'd had the brace removed from his ankle, finally. They'd celebrated with dinner and cards – which he lost spectacularly at – and had then cuddled for a while before Melony had fallen asleep in his arms, simply wiped out from a long past few days.

OOOOOOOO

Two days before the mission to return back to the lava base was scheduled to leave, Mitchell was in her quarters alone, studying yet another planet for possible Wraith activity, when Talon did the symbiote equivalent of clearing his throat to get her attention.

Yes?

She loved it when he did that; it sent a shiver along her spine that she found particularly enjoyable. Kind of like the shiver you felt when watching a suspenseful movie and you just _knew_ something was going to happen because of the scary music that was playing – only without the scary music.

_You need to make a decision_

Regarding...?

_Beckett_

She frowned, catching the seriousness of his tone.

What about him?

_You love him, right?_

Yes.

_Enough to spend a lot of time thinking about him_

Since he was in her head and knew what she was thinking about, she had to agree with that.

Yes.

_And you're pretty much over the… thing… that happened between the two of you?_

The way he said it made it clear that _he_ wasn't, but again, he was in Melony's head and knew that she was working very hard to try and overcome what little tension there still was between her and Carson – and there was some, although a lot of that was, admittedly, sexual tension.

Yes.

_Then you need to do something about it_

What?

He made an annoyed noise, which made her smile, despite the fact that she wasn't sure what he was getting at.

_This Wraith hunting thing is going to be dangerous, Hot Shot. If you're not concentrating on what we're doing, you could make a misstep_

I've never let you down before.

_I'm not worried about you letting me down,_ he told her. _I'm worried about you agonizing over a decision because you're worried about my feelings_

What?

_Look, you know I know what's going on in your head. There's no way I can't, since our blending makes it that way. I know how you feel about Beck-_ Carson_. I know you want to be with him, and that you're only holding back because of me, and I can't have that between us_

"I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do," Melony told him. "It can wait until you're-"

_It can't_

Why?

_Because if something goes wrong, then you'll never know how it could have been between the two of you, and I won't allow that – not to mention, like I said before, you might be wondering about it at the worst moment, and make a misstep_

She frowned.

So what exactly are you saying?

_I'm saying that you need to find out what there might be between you two before we leave on this expedition, because once we're gone, I need your attention on what we're doing_

You're sure you don't mind?

_I don't mind…_

But you won't forgive him.

_We'll see_

There was no way she'd ever get more of a promise from him than that, and she knew it. Hell, it was far more than she'd ever really expected to get from him, and she didn't bother to hide her surprise. He chuckled gently in her mind, and then withdrew from her conscious as much as he could; telling her without words that what she did the rest of the night was completely up to her.

Since he wasn't paying attention to the mission report, now, there was no reason for her to study it, and Mitchell turned off the laptop, closing it with a sigh. The decision was hers, now. And he'd done it on purpose this way, she knew it.

She rolled off her bed and headed for the door

OOOOOOOOO

Carson had fallen asleep despite intending to stay up and wait a while to see if Melony was going to stop by and have a late night cup of coffee with him – or even better, hang out a while and chat. When she hadn't come, he'd debated going to her room, figuring that maybe she was just tired or something and didn't want to come looking for him, but had decided that it was possible she was actually busy, and didn't want to spare the time to be with him. She'd been spending a lot of time with him this last week, and he knew how many other things she'd been trying to get accomplished as well. Maybe she just needed a break.

Deciding that that was the case, he'd stayed awake as long as he could, reading in bed and finally falling asleep with the book on his stomach.

A movement in the bed next to him woke him, and he felt her slide in next to him. He knew it was her without even opening his eyes, and he rolled towards her, his arm moving to hold her.

And when he did, all he felt was bare skin.

Shocked, his eyes opened even as he drew his hand back, thinking that in his sleep, he'd reached for someplace inappropriate. What he _saw_, though, was her, watching him, trembling just a little – although he knew it wasn't from cold – and her pale eyes filled with no little amount of apprehension. What he _felt_ – because she was under the blankets with him so he couldn't see it – was that she was wasn't wearing anything, and she took his hand and put it back where it had touched originally, her eyes glued to his. Then her hand brushed against his stomach, lightly.

"Love me, Carson…"

Unable to speak, he simply nodded, and pulled her gently closer.


	7. 07

_Author's Note: This one might be PG-15 or so, although there's really nothing graphic, or anything…_

"Are you all right?"

"Mm-hmmm."

It was much later, and she was wrapped securely in his arms – and for the first time in a while, she didn't feel any panic at the fact. In fact, she was feeling pretty good – and almost asleep.

Which didn't stop her from running her hand lazily along his body, enjoying the fact that she could.

He made a soft, pleased noise, and shifted just a little, his own hand tracing the curve of her hip, but there was no way either of them could have taken the other up on the invitation. Not just then, anyways. Both were sated and Melony couldn't even keep her eyes open.

"I didn't hurt you?"

Since _she'd_ taken the lead in their loving, setting the tempo and the boundaries because of her insecurities, she knew he didn't mean physically. He'd been as careful and tender – at least until the very end – as she had. He meant emotionally, and they both knew it.

"I'm fine, Carson…"

Her hand stilled, coming to rest on his chest where her fingers toyed with the scattering of hair there, and he sighed, tucking her head up under his chin.

"Good."

She didn't even hear it, though. She'd already fallen asleep.

OOOOOOOOO

_Are you going to sleep all day?_

Talon's 'voice' was gentle and only slightly teasing, but it broke into her sleep just as easily as if it had been rough and concerned. Of course, it didn't actually wake her completely, but it did bring her into a more conscious mode.

What?

She didn't open her eyes, and didn't even move. She was tired and ached pleasantly, and had no intention of getting up if she didn't need to.

Is the city on fire?

He chuckled.

_No_

Is it sinking?

_No_

Then I'm going to sleep all day.

_And when Beckett gets back here? Are you going to sleep through that?_

I don't have anything to do today.

Now that she mentioned that, she wondered if that was what Talon had planned all along, well aware that she was as prone to being lazy as anyone – and would be even more disinclined to do anything after the night she'd had.

_I'm not that devious_

Yeah, whatever.

She stretched, and realized that she was alone in the bed, which made her open her eyes. Sure enough, Carson was gone.

_I just told you that_

I don't listen to you. You should know that.

He snorted, and she looked at her watch. It wasn't all that late in the morning, no matter how he made it sound when he'd asked if she was going to sleep all day.

She closed her eyes again, gathering his pillow and cuddling it. It still smelled like him, and that was close enough for then. Especially since she didn't have any desire to get out of bed and go looking for him. A moment later she'd already dozed off again.

OOOOOOOO

It was the smell of coffee that woke her the next time. That and a heavy weight settling beside her in the bed. She sniffed appreciatively and heard a chuckle – this time one that wasn't in her head.

"Are you awake?"

Even without opening her eyes, there was no mistaking that lilting brogue.

"Mm-hmmm…"

"I brought you some coffee."

Sleep a little longer, or wake up and drink some coffee?

She sighed, and opened her eyes, turning her head so she could look up at him. She could always go back to sleep, but coffee was better hot.

He'd been in the shower, because his hair was still damp, and he was more or less completely dressed, because he'd been to the commissary to get coffee, and a tray of what was probably breakfast to judge from the smells coming from it.

She sat up, and reached for the coffee.

"Thank you."

He nodded, and settled the tray across her lap. Sure enough, it held bacon and scrambled eggs, and several slices of toast. Enough food for both of them, even though it was only on one plate.

"How did you manage not to drop this?"

"I didn't use my crutches."

"Was that wise?"

He shrugged.

"I _am_ a doctor."

Good point.

She took a sip of the coffee, found it was as fresh as she could have hoped for, and patted the spot beside her.

"Are you going to join me?"

To her delight – although she hid it by taking another sip of her coffee – he started undressing. Yup, it was going to be a great day, if the morning was any indication of how things were going to go.

When he was down to his boxers, he slipped under the blankets with her, and got as close to her side as he could without spilling the tray – which meant they were touching, but only just.

"You look beautiful when you're sleeping," he told her.

She couldn't help it; she blushed.

He smiled, and leaned over, kissing her softly before she could lift the cup to her lips once more.

"I must have watched you sleep for twenty minutes this morning…"

"Yeah?"

He nodded.

"I was wondering if I should wake you. And if I did, if you'd have regrets about what happened, or concerns, or something. Instead I decided to just watch you."

"There's no regrets, Carson," Melony told him, her free hand finding his and squeezing it softly. "I love you."

He smiled, and kissed her again, this time without hesitation.

"I love you, too."

"In that case, breakfast can wait…"

She smiled, and moved the tray off her lap, setting it on the stand beside his bed, and turned back to him just in time to have him reach for her once more.


	8. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

"You _do_ realize that once we get to Talonopolis, I'm not going to have a lot of time to be alone with you…?"

Carson nodded, and sighed.

"I know."

He did know, too. It was what made the time that he did have with her all that much more special.

"It won't mean that I don't love you…"

His arm went around her waist, resting comfortably on her hip, and he pulled her closer to his side. The two of them were standing on the highest balcony of Atlantis, looking out over the water and enjoying the last sunrise that Melony would see on Atlantis for a while. She'd told him – and Weir and the others – that once the lavabase was finished, she was going to go directly from that planet to start hunting Wraith. The plan was to keep the Atlanteans out of the equations completely, in case the Wraith caught wind of what was happening. As far as they'd be concerned, she was a Goa'uld, looking for new technology to steal and another species to rape. Which would work exceptionally well if the Wraith had heard of the Goa'uld, and would work nominally well even if they hadn't.

All that mattered was to distance herself from the humans who were fairly vulnerable from an outright attack from the Wraith from above. At least until they found a way to power up the shields.

"I know, Melony." He pressed a kiss against her temple, holding his lips there for a long moment. "I love you, too. And I always will."

That was his promise to her. That no matter how long she was gone, or how far she distanced herself from him and the others, he'd be there when she returned. He didn't like what she was doing – he hated it, in fact, and it scared the hell out of him to think of her off on some planet looking for the Wraith without anyone with her but Talon – but he couldn't stop her, and he knew better than to give her any kind of ultimatum. She'd never lied to him about her intentions, and he'd known what he was getting into when he'd fallen for her.

She smiled, and her arm went around his waist as well, her hand coming to rest in a splayed position on one buttock, which made him grin, despite his concern for her. As she'd probably intended.

"But I still get to _go_ with you, right?"

"To the lavabase?"

"Yes."

She nodded.

"We need you to find any more holes there might be in the floor for us."

He laughed, and flexed his ankle, experimentally. It was still tender, but he could put his weight on it, now – as the walk they had just taken proved – and it wasn't going to stop him from going with her to watch the base get built.

"I'll do my best."

"Actually, we _do_ want to see what's down that tunnel," she said, seriously, although she did grace him with a loving grin. "It might lead to a dead end or something, but it also might lead to another bolt hole, and that's worth looking for."

"And maybe more coffee beans?"

"Maybe." She conceded.

He was going to be helping with the harvesting of the coffee plants. Not the ones closest to the lavabase, but the ones that Melony had found on her initial trip out with Kale. There was a huge amount of them, and there were plenty of others who were just as eager to see their dwindling coffee supply get restocked and were more than willing to offer their services as harvesters and separators and roasters – although the roasting would actually be done on Atlantis where it was much safer to light a fire – or use an oven.

"And maybe you'll find giant lava lizards?"

She smiled again. Sheppard had admitted to her that he'd been tempted to tell Carson all about the lava lizards when he'd been forced to leave him in the crack he'd fallen in, and Mitchell had passed that particular bit of information onto Carson the night before when they'd been sprawled in her bed together. She'd thought it was hilarious – although he'd been a little surly about the whole thing – and it'd taken her a while to help him see the humor in the situation. Of course, it didn't help that she'd been giggling the entire time.

_Yeah, but I bet it_ did _help that you had your hand on his-_

Yeah, I bet that _helped_, she agreed, quickly, smiling.

Talon had been very good about her relationship with Carson – he'd even managed to actually refer to him as Carson again and not Doctor Whatshisname. Of course, she was fairly certain he was just waiting for a reason to push him off a balcony, but so far Carson hadn't given him one – and even Talon had to admit he couldn't find any fault with his actions the last few days.

_You've certainly been enjoying yourself the past few days_

She smiled again, and quickly resisted the urge to nod.

You're the one who told me to.

There was a surge of gentle humor at her instant defensiveness.

_And I meant it… I'm just glad to see you're following my advice so…_

Eagerly?

_The image of bunny rabbits comes to mind_

She snickered, unable to stop herself, and Carson looked over at her, his hand tightening its grip on her side.

"Do I want to know?"

He was getting used to her laughing for no reason, and when she blushed like that at the same time, it usually meant Talon had said something off-color.

"No."

He smiled.

"I'll take your word for it…"

Melony grinned, and took his hand in hers. The sun was down, now, and it was going to get chilly on the balcony soon. Besides, she had other things she wanted to spend her last night on Atlantis doing – and looking at a dark sky wasn't on the list.

"I might be convinced to tell you, anyways," she told him as they headed for his quarters.

**The End!**

_So! remember, this story was just for the sole purpose of Melony and Carson time... getting them reconciled before we head off into the next part of the storyline, so it's not supposed to be exciting or all that interesting (unless the subject of Melony and Carson interests you and you wanted them together as much as I did) let me know what you thought, please!_


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